Reviews by pheggeseth:

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Cask at Public House. Clear copper with a fleeting white head that leaves behind some lacing. Moderate acetaldehyde/green apple on the nose, mineral, biscuit-like malt. Light on the tongue with low carbonation, but quite flavorful; ample hop bitterness, green apple, toasted malt. I picked up a hint of diacetyl initially, but it disappeared after a few sips. The finish brings out an apricot fruitiness that lingers alongside the bitter hop bite. Not a bad little bitter.

Dark amber in the nonic glass. Authentic low-rise head gives the classic low carbonation English style. Even the cool cellar temp is right on. Malt has great flavor of caramel and surprising mouth-filling flavor for a lighter style. The hops give a great aroma, a haunting floral flavor, and just the right touch of bitterness to with the delicate flavors. Claimed to have "Maris Otter heirloom malt and Goldings and Challenger hops."

This is the most like a real English Bitter I've had outside England. Better than most of them too. What a nice change from allegedly English hyper hopped pale ales and double bitter ESBs. Had a pint at The Linkery in San Diego.

On cask at the Public House at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Served on cask into a nonic. Pours a nice clear amber with a creamy off-white head that lasts quite a while. Bready aroma with light accents of earth and stone fruit. Flavor starts with a bready, crackery maltiness, followed by a bit of fruit and finally an earthy hop finish that lingers nicely. Mouthfeel is sublime. Feels like I could drink it all day. Creamy body and subtle, fine carbonation, with a crispness in the finish. The fact that it was served at a proper temperature stood out as well. I'm not buying plane tickets to England or eschewing imperial stouts just yet but the pomp and circumstance of cask ale and the quality of this one in particular was a nice change of pace.

Appropriate for something served at AT&T Park, the beer is brownish with definite orange highlights - it certainly matches what most others at the ballpark are wearing. While it's as foggy as the Bay Area, it does have a bright (nearly glowing) complexion. Its naturally good looks are further enhanced by a great big, bubbly head (impressive for a cask ale).

The duo of bitter floral, herbal hops and sweet biscuity, toffee-like malts is truly a timeless classic. Don't mistake lower strength beers as being somehow lighter in character - there's a good deal of grain and bitterness detected in the nose alone. If the flavour profile follows suit this promises to be a perfect accompaniment to a long, slow night of baseball.

The beer could be tastier; despite a somewhat sweet toffee-like flavour the malts have a bit of a cardboard-y texture and light staleness to them (perhaps the cask wasn't at its freshest?) Still, a big handful of ultra-floral hops save face, lingering with some candied citrus notes and a lot of grassy, tea-like herbal notes. I'm glad they poured me an honest sized pint!

In the tradition of English bitters, this is one easily enjoyed beer, a great one for throwing back. It is substantially more hopped, however, and, by extension, more bitter. The bitterness is pleasant mind you, with a leafy herbal quality like a tea and plenty of floral notes, but it's quite assertive and might just be enough to turn off more sensitive palates.

It's ironic that a beer be named after someone who was such a staunch supporter of prohibition. (Billy Sunday was a former outfielder who left baseball to join the evangelical Christian ministry.) Although I will say that there is indeed divine inspiration in beers of this nature, and certainly something spiritual about enjoying them at the ballpark.